Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon break with our Afternoon Tea curators. Need an extra lump of sugar? One more sip? If you have five minutes more (or ten), we have one more hit.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Ian North.
Ian North, a Canadian folk-rock artist, is back with a timely and soulful single, “The Beautiful City.” Originally inspired by his experiences living in Toronto, the song reflects his observations on urban challenges and asks what a truly livable, united city might look like. Drawing influence from gospel and folk traditions, Ian crafts an uplifting yet introspective track with a sound that melds alt-country with an ambient, gospel feel – just in time for the holiday season.
“The Beautiful City” revisits a track originally featured on Ian‘s debut album Emptiful (2001), which earned an honorable mention in Nashville’s Positive Pop Song Contest. Now, as Ian celebrates a personal milestone and his return to music after surviving a near-fatal health crisis, he reimagines the song with a renewed sense of purpose.
Stream + share “The Beautiful City” now:
When I first wrote “The Beautiful City,” I was inspired by a line from the gospel song “Twelve Gates” – a vision of an ideal place, though I’m not religious. Living in Toronto, I saw both the challenges and beauty of city life. But the song has taken on new meaning after my near-death experience. It was originally a vision for a better world, but now it also represents my gratitude for life and for the people who make up a great city. – Ian North
Tea: Spiced Chai
Music: Kim Hiorthøy –”Door Opens Both Ways“
I first heard Kim Hiorthoy on CBC Radio late at night, and the music seemed like a dream. I love the calm ambient feel mixed with distortion, noise, dissonance and off-centre rhythms. He’s from Norway, and I sense a feeling of the north in his music as well.
Art: Bonavista North From Jimmy’s Lookout by David Blackwood
I once edited a magazine article on David Blackwood’s work, and I was fascinated by the moodiness of his etchings and prints, with their dark Newfoundland skies and Edward Gorey-like figures. A number of his images, like this one, are of Newfoundland scenes and historic events: massive icebergs and the literal house-moving of the Resettlement.
Tea + Me 